The Fastest Motorcycle up Pikes Peak This Year Was a Mostly-Stock Ducati Multistrada 1260

Can your touring bike climb Pikes Peak in less than 10 minutes?

Ducati has reclaimed the crown as the two-wheeled king of Pikes Peak from KTM, with racer Carlin Dunne topping the motorcycle classes of this year's “Race to the Clouds” with a time of 9:59:102 in the saddle of a mostly-stock Ducati Multistrada 1260 Pikes Peak model.

Dunne's race-winning bike is actually pretty darn similar to the one that anyone can go buy at a dealer. The Pikes Peak model separates itself from other Multistrada trims with a Termignoni exhaust, an Öhlins suspension, and carbon fiber bodywork for weight reduction purposes. The changes to Dunne's mount were relatively minor, including different handlebars, Pirelli slicks, and a different Brembo master brake cylinder.

"This quite literally is the bike you buy on the showroom floor," Dunne said in a video showing off the Pikes Peak model before the race. Incidentally, Dunne was the first racer to ever climb Pikes Peak in less than 10 minutes on a motorcycle back in 2012.

Ducati promised the new Testastretta DVT L-twin engine in the Multistrada 1260 would deliver 18 percent more midrange torque than the engine in the outgoing Multistrada 1200, and the proof is in the first-place pudding. Oh, and it sounds magnificent. The new model also has a redesigned chassis for increased stability.

What’s so impressive about this Ducati’s Pikes Peak victory is the fact that it’s a touring bike. The Multistrada is just as at home eating up highway miles with a passenger as it is racing up a mountain, making it one of the most versatile motorcycles you can buy today.